As guests entered into the Watermill Center's bamboo forest of live art installations, they were first greeted by Jacques Reynaud's "Angels of Apocalypse." Reynaud, a longtime Wilson collaborator, depicted six men as bronze statues clad in glittering bronze tunics and oversize wings; they sat atop high, hidden seats and brandished swords.

The Bruce High Quality Foundation's "As We Lay Dying: Lecture Notes," featured twice throughout the walking path, was the only interactive installation on the grounds. Characters on hand recited words on the expansive chalkboard, and guests could also contribute their own notes, messages, or sayings. The chalkboards, set up on raised wooden platforms with seating areas, also served as a palette cleanser of sorts during the tour.

One of the most Instagrammed moments of the night, John Margaritas's "One Ton Tank" featured a hand-poured concrete tank filled with water. The tank's windows created "an almost prismatic light effect" as a performed in a black speedo performed while being weighed down with weights.

Located on the graveled west terrace was the Bruce High Quality Foundation's towering, 35-foot inflatable MIG fighter jet. The installation, called "A Smack and Then Nothing," as meant to project a sense of breathing despite being nose down, frozen in a point of contact into the earth. Surrounding the inflatable were performers on six high-backed platforms.

Two installations, both by G.T. Pellizzi, were combined inside the primary entranceway of the Watermill Center's main building. "Constellations in Red, Yellow and Blue" was featured on the walls, complementing the Bruce High Quality Foundation's "As We Lay Dying: Singing Quartet" of performers. The former featured light sculptures derived from invented cosmologies inspired by symbols found on many textiles in the Watermill Collection, while the latter featured singers rhythmically singing and breaking up the texts that have been ringing throughout the grounds.

The foundation’s ”As We Lay Dying: She Would Come Up With Reasons" had guests meander through a field of amputated car headlights that were oscillating back and forth. Lined up facing guests and the "One Ton Tank" installation, different models of skeleton-like cars blocked the pathway and shone through the trees at dusk.

Flanking the north end of the Watermill Center's Clementine Hunter House was Pussy Riot's "Make America Great Again" sculpture. The husband and wife artist duo Nadya Tolokonnikova and Pyotr Verzilov's political commentary featured a 1920s electric chair centered in front of a facade emblazoned with the tongue-in-cheek reference to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's slogan.

Brian O'Mahoney's "Cats Sleep Anywhere" installation represents the artist's fourth time returning to the benefit. It showcased three performers climbing up and through a mountain of pillows atop one of the property's original south-facing sheds.

A crisp, all-white venue set the stage for dinner. Catered by Great Performances, the meal consisted of smoked salon and baby beets with grapefruit caviar, fennel, and yogurt followed by a main course of pan-seared striped bass with yellow tomato coulis, heirloom tomato, wilted farm greens, and katchkie tabouli.

Dinner concluded with a performance by Norwegian artist and vocalist Tori Wrånes, who dazzled guests while suspended from the ceiling. It was followed by a dance party with DJ Mia Moretti featuring an impromptu, surprise performance by Ja Rule.